A conspiracy theorist (Teddy) and his cousin (Don) kidnap a CEO (Michelle) because they believe she is an alien and trying to destroy bees… Dark comedy and thrills ensue.
I know this may sound redundant after that plot synopsis, but I do have to reiterate… This is a very strange movie. I mean, the movie starts with the kidnapper shaving off the CEO’s hair because they think she could use it to contact her mothership, so logic isn’t the biggest factor here. But I think that’s an intentional choice by the director to help put you in the mind of Teddy, which is a creative decision. But the movie tone will go back-and-forth from comedic to intense to creepy to disturbing and back to comedic. Personally, I think for the most part, it pulls off its tones, but I could see more regular viewers being thrown off by this, so just be aware.
The big standoutof this movie is everyone’s acting, especially from Jesse Plemons’s character. I found it interesting how the movie went back-and-forth in making Teddy somewhat sympathetic at times, but mostly he’s crazy with a capital WTF, and you don’t know what’s going to set him off or what he’s going to do to Michelle, so the filmmakergot a lot of tension out of those scenes but also added a dark comedy element that I thought was an interesting element to the film.
Emma Stone gives a solid performance; it’s interesting how her character throughout the film tries to speak to her captures with this very “corporate delegation” type dialogue, like “I can understand your frustration; let’s take a deep breath and have a dialogue about this.” There were a couple moments where I saw her character was doing things that were against her own self-preservation, but by the end, they did wrap it all around and give it some sort of explanation.
I really like the color grading/cinematography in this; everything just looks so colorful but also greasy at the same time. It really gave the film this strong texture feel.
A standoutfor me was Stavros Halkias; he had a very natural and low-key sense of humor, and he and Jesse Plemons have this funny awkward chemistry between them.
The pacing was quite brisk, and for a movie that’s almost 2 hours, you don’t really feel the time, so that’s always a big plus.
I thought Aidan Delbis as Don was an interesting character. He clearly isn’t the smartest tool in the shed, and when Teddy is the brains of the operation, you know you’re in some serious trouble. But there was a heart and “down-to-earth realism” that he brought to the film, which I appreciated.
There are small little touches in the sound design or lighting that the film never really acknowledges, like they’ll happen in the background, but they really add to the tension of “is this woman an alien or not?” It was a sole detail, which I thought was pretty impressive.
I’d say 80% of the film takes place on a farm, and for mostly one location, I think they used it well and were able to explore in new ways from scene to scene, which I always appreciate.
Alicia Silverstone has a small role in this, and it's always nice to see her pop up.
Put intermittently throughout the film are these interesting art sequences that I thought were an interesting touch and were integrated well throughout, especially considering how totally different they can be from the rest of the movie.
The ending might leave people mixed; I thought it was OK. I give it points for creativity, but it did leave me wanting some and had a lingering feeling of… “OK, I guess that’s it.”
I will say, with that shaved head and pale white lotion skin, Emma Stone makes a pretty good Gollum. lol
Overall, Bugonia is a well-crafted film with strong performances and an interesting tone and style, but the lunacy of the characters and situation might be hard for people to connect to, and while I do think the ending is impressive from a creative standpoint, it’s not the most satisfying and sort of ends the movie on a “huh,” but it’s all subjective, and I think that’s more of a me thing. I give Begonia three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you’re into good performances and good filmmaking, you’ll enjoy the film, but it’s nothing that will blow you away.
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